The Dutch company is a leading developer of Interleukin15 (IL-15) targeted therapies.

Calypso is a spin-off by the healthcare business of Merck KGaA and is headquartered in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, with offices and laboratories in Geneva, Switzerland.

In January 2024, Swiss pharma giant Novartis (NOVN: VX) entered into an agreement to acquire Calypso Biotech. Novartis will pay Calypso’s shareholders an upfront payment of $250 million upon closing, with a further of up to $175 million based on the achievement of certain predetermined milestones.

The acquisition provides Novartis full rights to CALY-002, which it intends to explore further across a wide variety of autoimmune indications with high unmet medical need.